How to Unlock Bootloader of OnePlus 3

There’s no doubt OnePlus 3 was the most amazing smartphone we have seen last year. This flasgship phone had many breath taking specs and features which made many Android users go crazy. Some of which includes 5.5 inches Optic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 64 GB internal memory, 6 GB RAM, Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 Quad-core processor, Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery, 16 megapixel primary camera and 8 megapixel front camera. It came with in build Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow OS.

If you are an Android geek like me, who is never satisfied with the specs and always want something more to try on their phones, then you would definitely want to root or install custom firmware on it. But before rooting or flashing any unofficial custom ROM you need to unlock bootloader of your smartphone. By unlocking bootloader you can not only gain root access but also install custom firmwares, flash modified system, kernel, increase internal memory, flash custom recoveries, .img files and much more.

Whenever you purchase a brand new smartphone, it comes with a locked bootloader. Basically it is locked because the manufacturer of that specific device wants you to stick to their self designed Android OS version. And if you even try to cross over those restrictions put forth by the manufacturer and root or install custom firmware without unlocking the bootloader, it will only result into unwanted outcomes and bricked phones as well. Hence it is always necessary to unlock the bootloader of your phone before proceeding to any flashing processes. Today in this step by step guide we’ll see how to unlock bootloader of OnePlus 3 smartphone. Actually it is the most simplest and easiest method for unlocking bootloader.

Disclaimer:

All the steps that are mentioned below must be attempted at your own risk. We at the Droidthunder.com will not be held responsible for any damage caused to your OnePlus 3 by following this guide. If you are doing this for the first time and have no idea about this stuff, then its better to stop right here. Only experienced users having complete knowledge of this are free to proceed further. Although there are least chances that your device will get damaged or bricked still I strongly recommend to follow all the steps correctly without implementing anything by your own.

Pre-Requisites:

Unlocking the bootloader will void your device warranty.

Make sure your OnePlus 3 is charged at least up to 60% so as to minimize the risk of interruption due to lack of battery backup.

Since at the end of this procedure everything gets wiped, hence it is recommended that you take a backup of your entire phone data and settings in case something goes wrong.

Make sure that you’ve enabled the USB debugging mode on your phone. If not, then do so by following the path Menu->Settings->Developer options ->USB debugging. If you don’t see Developer option then go to Settings->About Phone and tap 7 times on the Build number. This will make the Developer option appear in the Settings menu.

Note: Make sure that OnePlus USB drivers are installed on your computer.

Step 3: Go to the location C:\Program Files\Minimal ADB and Fastboot folder (where you’ve installed the adb and fastboot). Then hold Shift button of your keyboard. By holding shift button, right click on empty space. From the list, choose Open command window here option. This will launch the command window.

Step 4: In the command window, type the following commands and hit enter:

adb devices

As soon as you press enter key, you’ll see a message saying ‘List of devices attached’ along with random numbers. This will confirm that your OnePlus 3 has successfully connected to your computer.

Note: If such thing doesn’t happen then re-install the USB drivers. If the problem still persists then change the USB cable or USB port.

Step 5: Now type the next command and press enter:

adb reboot bootloader

This will restart your OnePlus 3 into bootloader mode as shown below:

Step 6: Then type the fastboot command and press enter:

fastboot devices

This command will again confirm the successful connection with some random numbers.

Step 7: Now to unlock bootloader type the following command and press enter:

fastboot oem unlock

As soon as you press enter key, the following screen will appear on your phone:

Note: Use Volume Up and Down keys for navigation and Power key for selection.

Step 8: Using Volume keys navigate to the Yes option and press Power key for selecting it.

This will start the actual unlocking process.

Note: This step will wipe entire data on your phone. Hence make sure you have backed up everything before performing this step.

Step 10: To confirm the same, again type the following command and press enter:

adb reboot bootloader

Success

That’s all! You’ve successfully unlocked the bootloader of your OnePlus 3 Smartphone. Now you are free to gain root access, flash those unofficial custom recoveries, custom ROMs and kernels etc. If you come across any difficulty while implementing the steps mentioned above then don’t hesitate to inform me. Just drop your problem in the comments section and I’ll help you out. Till then Enjoy! 🙂